Chapter 6

"Nobody deserves your tears, but whoever deserves them will not make you cry."

-Gabriel Garcia Marquez-

***

She had known Marcel for five years. They had been through so much together. They even got engaged and had planned their marriage the next summer. Everyone had known about their relationship. Some had jokingly admitted how envious they were of her. She had dreamed of the bouquet and the cake, the guest and the dress. Oh, how those memories and dreams were shattered in an instant. She thought he would be faithful to her, and only her, but Clara never realized he had also been seeing Giselle at the same time. She turned and faced Giselle.

"Giselle, how could you do this to me, we grew up like sisters, how can you betray me like this?" she shouted in disbelief. Out of all people she had known in her life, that ex friend of hers was one of the least person she thought would commit such atrocious act. Yet it seemed the feeling was not mutual.

"Sisters?" Giselle's expression turned dark, and she laughed hysterically. She put her little finger under her eye, pretending there was a tear.

"Oh, Clara, you are too naive. Sisters? do you have any idea how much I have to put up with you all these years. Clara Bellavance, the vintner's heiress. Loved by everyone since birth, had everything she ever wanted in life, you had never known hardships or misery. Do you think I ever liked you? I had to pretend to hang around you and acted all friendly to you because I had to if i wanted to stay in your place.

All along, I have always hated you. Now you see, Marcel is mine, we've been together for as long as you would never know and he had professed his love to me over and over again. When was the last time he told you I love you?" Clara was silent because truthfully she also could not remember when.

"See? you should back off Clara. He is mine!" Unable to hold herself back any longer, Clara slapped her hard in the face. She had never slapped anyone in her entire life, and she never thought the first person she would do it to was her childhood best friend.

Before long, Dennis and the other household staff rushed into the room. They had heard Clara's voice from the first floor, they had left the door opened and all of them were equally shocked to see what had happened. Dennis could immediately figure out what was going on. His daughter was trembling and her eyes were red, her veins were visible on her arms, while Giselle had a red mark on her cheek. Marcel was standing there like a fool, unable to do anything. It was all so clear, Giselle could no longer hide her ugly self. Everyone had found out about them.

Dennis felt upset, but more so than that, he felt disappointed. He would never have guessed the little girl he brought into his house fifteen years ago would end up hurting his own daughter, but he was angrier at Marcel. He thought the man was a good man for his daughter, he came from a humble background and Dennis himself knew of his family. It turned out all of his judgements the whole time were wrong. He allowed two liars to enter his house, and now his daughter had to pay the price.

"The two of you, get out of my house, now!" Clara demanded. Giselle was touching her burning cheek, hatred was visible on her eyes. However, she was still on Bellavance's mansion and she could not physically hurt Clara back. She turned toward Marcel and snatched her bag, not saying any other words, she walked out from the house without saying anything to anyone. Marcel was at loss for words, he could not say anything but to lower his head and followed Giselle out.

She had been waiting near his car and before seconds, they were off. Clara rushed back to her room. The relationship between three of them were fine just a few hours ago, but within minutes everything changed. She blamed herself as well for being so naive, she should have seen the signs, she should have noticed Marcel freaking out when she touched his phone just because it was ringing or the time when Giselle had gone out at night to meet up with her friend at the same time Marcel cancelled their date because he was feeling unwell. Those small coincidences, those little signs, she should have noticed them, then perhaps she could have done something about it.

She slammed her body into the bed and buried her face on the pillow. She cried her heart out that night. Her eyes were all red and puffy, her hair was wet with tears and sweat, her cheeks and nose were the shade of tomato and her head was spinning.

She was a complete mess.

Two days had passed since. On the evening, Margaret knocked on her door, telling her to come out for dinner as she had not eaten anything in two days. Everyone in the household began to feel worried about her. She had refused to come out from her room and even rejected her father's offer to take her out for dinner. He also asked her if she wanted anything but she only wanted to be left alone. Clara was in a complete distress, she was getting weak and unable to do anything productive. It drove her insane.

She did not want to let anyone see her on such a vulnerable state. She hated Giselle and Marcel with every fiber of her being. Two people whom she loved and respected betrayed her. Every time she thought of that night, she began to cry again. Yet she knew she could not stay in that state forever. After her tears subsided, anger crept out from within.

She wanted to burn Giselle and Marcel together, she had let her imagination run wild, in her head, she had tortured and killed them many times over with so many different ways. But in reality She felt pathetic, she could not do anything. She sat on her bed and punched her pillow. She turned over and saw a vine shaped ring Marcel gave her a year ago when he proposed to her.

She could still remember vividly when he asked her to meet him in the middle of the vineyard in the evening. She remembered the way he smiled at her, those soft eyes he had, and the expression she made when he pulled out a velvet purple box and from his pocket and knelt i front of her. He opened the box, revealing a sterling silver ring with vine embellishment around the base. It took her less than a second to say yes, and jumped to his arm to kiss him.

Clara took the ring from its case, staring at it for a good second before lifting herself up. Getting out of the bed she walked to the balcony in her room, and with full force, she threw it to the ground. It fell to the bushes and disappeared.

"Clara, you cannot be like this forever." she spoke to herself in the mirror in her room. She took a tissue paper and wiped away her tears. Her hair was looking pretty awful. She did not like what she saw there. Clara pulled out a wooden hairbrush from the drawer and brushed her damp hair. Then without warning she took a scissors and cut off her previously waist length hair until it reached just under her shoulder.

Once she realized she has slightly altered her appearance, for the first time in days a small smile could escape her lips. As she clenched her fist together, she stared at herself in the mirror and whispered.

"You need a fresh start."